You know, even though I got up at 6am to get to the airport in time for my flight, I was totally thinking that I wasn’t really that tired. Sure, I’ve pretty much done nothing but walk around Manhattan for 3 days, but that’s not really that tiring, right? Heh. I got back, unpacked, had a nap, and was having trouble remembering what exactly I was supposed to do next.

[I edited my Venezia FO post to include a couple more photos and full project details, for anybody curious! ]

Next time I’ll have to do a bit better about trying to be in touch with other people for meetups – Risa, I will be more organized for sure and we’ll take some lunch break knitting by storm! As it was, though, it was pretty great to show up and then put myself in the hands of Rebecca and her knitting peeps.

I arrived 3 hours late (seriously, Newark, a 3-hour delay for freakin’ WIND? Bite me.) but just in time to breeze in to the Borders where the Yarn Harlot was speaking. (Though I did run into her at the airport on Wednesday morning on the Toronto end, which was unassailably cool.) She’d just begun the talk and I snuck in with Rebecca and we stood and knitted and listened and laughed. [Aside: For real, someone out there at one of her next signings coming up has to ask her in the Q & A portion about the comma story. She told it in Toronto in the ‘thank you’ portion of her launch talk, which probably won’t make it in there due to time, but I seriously laughed my ass off. So did Rebecca and Melanie when I re-told it to them.]

Melanie and Holly totally made it onto the Yarn Harlot’s blog post from the New York day’s post, so go them, and it was great to see Catrina and Abbie again too. This is a group of gals who all coalesced around the same knitting group, and they get along and have different interests and pasts and jobs and it’s all great. I will totally hang out with them any day of the week. It was also really awesome to see other knitters while standing in line (dude, the back of the line was so not fun to stand in, that was another 2 hours of standing, and my legs were weak by the end of it….but still OK for the knitting and conversation that passed the time. Knitters are a living breathing example of perseverance.)

The next day, while on the subway on the way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rebecca and I encountered Rita, a visiting knitter from (I think) Connecticut (with her parents), who knew about the Yarn Harlot and had her knitting with her, and started talking to us when she saw us knitting on our projects. It was great. Hi, Rita! It was totally great to meet another knitter on the subway, it actually happens to me pretty rarely when I am in Toronto.

Post-Met, we wandered over to Knitty City. I don’t mind saying that this was my favourite shop of all the ones we went to (I’m totally not biased because of the Fleece Artist and Mission Falls stock…not at all…), and we visited five LYSs. The staff were friendly, knowledgeable, patient, and there was a constant stream of activity in and out of the shop. Would go back again in a heartbeat. I scored some Shi Bui sock yarn and some Lorna’s Laces.

There was more yarn shop visiting scattered throughout the next couple of days. Downtown Yarns was, for me, a close second to Knitty City, I thought they were a real counterpart to Lettuce Knit in Toronto in terms of atmosphere and neighbourhood and yarn selection. (And also they just happened to have Fleece Artist and Mission Falls). I picked up a braid of fiber.

We also stopped by Purl (gorgeous), and Seaport Yarns (Awesome Cherry Tree Hill selection, I got some). We happened by Knit New York sort of by accident while on the way for dinner. I must say they have one of the best Noro selections I’ve seen outside of Romni Wools in Toronto. Melanie was with us and despite proclamations of I DON’T DO THIS STASH BULLSHIT got taken down by the Misti Alpaca chunky and left with a skein which she promptly began turning into a hat.

I will say one thing about New York – if I spent that time every day on the subway, I might have a sweater every two weeks. I started a pair of Jaywalkers on Tuesday and I’m already halfway finished the 2nd sock.

Glad you had a great time in our wonderful city! I have to admit that Knitty City is my absolute favoite LYS too!
I hate to be a pain in the arse (dontcha just love that word) but please don’t forget about me. I figured you’de be pretty tired form your travels so I was gonna wait until Wednesday to bug you. Thanks!

And yes, Newark is plagued with delays, especially in the summertime when a hint of rain or a thunderstorm 100 miles away can get your flight cancelled or delayed for several hours. Someone told me once that it is apparently about the worst place you can put an airport, it’s too exposed to the wind and weather for some reason.

Hi Glenna! It was so great to meet you the other day, and I’m glad you didn’t think I was a weirdo for talking to you. I found your blog by Googling “venezia v-neck.” Isn’t the twenty-first century great?

It sounds like the trip to New York was a lot of fun. As others have said, delays in Newark are pretty common; it is one of the most congested airports in the US. One of my least favorite things is being put in a holding pattern outside the Newark airport. Yuck.

On another note, Venezia is simply lovely. I would like to begin knitting that pattern soon–once the Ivy League Vest is finished. I am almost done with that, and fair isle knitting gives me a sense of satisfaction that I imagine is similar to what you expressed in the earlier Venezia entry.

Oh, and congratulations on the final submission of your dissertation–no small feat, indeed!

Yeah, the subway can turn you into a prolific knitter pretty quick. ;)

I’m happy to hear you enjoyed NY. I’m also quite happy to hear you liked knitty city. it’s my favourite… maybe I should just have my paycheck directly deposited into Pearl’s bank account, it would save everyone some transaction time.